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1983 Formula One season
|next = |Races = 15 |Drivers = 35 |Teams = 20 |Tyre Suppliers = |image = |caption = Nelson Piquet (Brabham-BMW) - 59 points |image2 = |caption2 = Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC - 89 points}}The 1983 Formula One season was the 34th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1983 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 13, and ended on October 15 after fifteen races. Nelson Piquet won the Drivers' Championship, his second Formula One title and the first to be won by a driver using a turbocharged engine. The Manufacturers Championship was won by Ferrari. 1983 was also the last Formula One season to include a non-championship race. Season preview Keke Rosberg of Williams entered the 15 race season as Driver's Champion, while Ferrari entered as Constructors' Champion. Rule changes *Ground effect outlawed completely for the beginning of the 1983 season after everal severe accidents in 1982. All cars returned to a flat undertray. *Four wheel drive was banned along with cars with more than four wheel. *A minimum car weight was set at 540 kg. Team and Driver changes *Williams retained defending world champion Keke Rosberg, but their number two seat, which had been occupied on a temporary basis by both Mario Andretti and Derek Daly in 1982 after the departure of Carlos Reutemann, was filled for 1983 by Ligier's Jacques Laffite. *Ligier also lost Eddie Cheever to Renault, and replaced them with Jean-Pierre Jarier, signed from Osella, and Raul Boesel, formerly of March. *Osella filled Jarier's seat with Corrado Fabi, brother of Teo, who had raced for Toleman in 1982. Fabi was joined by fellow Italian debutante Piercarlo Ghinzani, who filled the seat which had been vacant since Riccardo Paletti's death in Canada. *The March team united with RAM Racing and became RAM March. As well as Boesel, Rupert Keegan was also replaced by the team, who shrunk to just one car, for Eliseo Salazar of ATS. *The German ATS team were also reduced to one car, run for Manfred Winkelhock who had driven alongside Salazar in 1982. *Tyrrell kept Michele Alboreto as their team leader after the Italian won for the first time at the last race of 1982. They replaced Brian Henton in the other car with American rookie Danny Sullivan. *The Brabham, McLaren and Lotus teams all retained both of their 1982 drivers - Nelson Piquet and Riccardo Patrese for Brabham, John Watson and Niki Lauda with McLaren and Elio de Angelis and Nigel Mansell at Lotus. *Renault held on to team leader Alain Prost but lost René Arnoux to Ferrari, and poached Cheever from Ligier to replace him. *Alfa Romeo also kept their team leader, Andrea de Cesaris, but replaced Bruno Giacomelli with Mauro Baldi, signed from Arrows. *Arrows replaced the Italian with Chico Serra, signed from the remnants of the now defunct Fittipaldi team. Marc Surer remained as the lead driver. *Ferrari retained Patrick Tambay, who had replaced Gilles Villeneuve after his death in Belgium, however Mario Andretti as a replacement for the injured Didier Pironi was never a permanent solution. That seat was filled by Tambay's compatriot René Arnoux, signed from Renault. *Theodore broke the trend by expanding from one car to two, but Tommy Byrne, the last of four drivers to drive their car in 1982, was not retained and the seats were filled with two South Americans. Debutante Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto was joined by Roberto Guerrero, a refugee from the defunct Ensign outfit. *Toleman, meanwhile, retained Derek Warwick as their lead driver, but replaced Teo Fabi with Alfa Romeo's Bruno Giacomelli. Calendar changes *Initially there was a race on the calendar named the New York Grand Prix, which was supposed to be held in September. It was to be held on a temporary circuit in Flushing Meadow in the Queens borough of the city; but after certain problems, the event was cancelled 10 weeks before it was due to be held and the European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch replaced it. *The Swiss Grand Prix was initally scheduled for 9 July at Dijon but was later cancelled. Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers contested the 1983 FIA Formula One World Championship. Season review The season was a four-way battle between Nelson Piquet, Renault driver Alain Prost and Ferrari duo René Arnoux and Patrick Tambay. Prost lost a title chance with a technical problem in the final round in South Africa. The fact that Ferrari had two race-winning drivers pushing for the driver's title enabled the team to win the constructors' title in spite of its best driver (Arnoux) finishing only third - a unique feat in Formula One history. The season also included a single non-championship Formula One race, the Race of Champions, which was held at Brands Hatch and won by defending World Champion Keke Rosberg in a Williams Cosworth. This was to be the last Formula One season to include a non-championship race. Alboreto83.jpg|Alboreto scores the last grand prix victory for the Tyrrell team at Detroit Prost austria 1983.jpg|Prost at the 1983 Austrian GP Results and Standings Grands Prix Drivers' Championship final standings | |} Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six finishers in each race. Constructors' Championship final standings Championship points were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six finishers in each race. Non-championship race results The 1983 season also include a single Formula One race which did not count towards the Formula One World Championship. This event, the 1983 Race of Champions, was to be the last Formula One event to be held outside of an FIA World Championship. Category:Formula One Seasons Category:Seasons